Carey Gabay, Aide For NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Dies Week After Being Shot During West Indian Day Parade

A 43-year-old lawyer in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s administration has died of a gunshot wound that he received last week before the West Indian American Day Parade, according to The New York Times.

Carey W. Gabay was an apparent bystander caught in a shootout between warring gang factions in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, police say. He was shot in the head, writes the Times:

Mr. Gabay was taken to Kings County Hospital Center, where he was in critical condition in a coma in recent days. His family and friends had been keeping vigil there. He was declared brain-dead on Tuesday night, and then taken off a respirator….

Mr. Gabay, the son of Jamaican immigrants, grew up in the Boston Secor Houses, a Bronx public-housing project. He graduated from Harvard, where he studied government, and in his senior year was elected president of the undergraduate council, the main body of student government….

Mr. Gabay celebrated his Jamaican heritage by going every year to J’ouvert, a festival where bands play West Indian music and revelers dance in the streets.

Gabay was gunned down at about 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 7 while walking home from the festival with his brother. Two others were shot and a 24-year-old died of stab wounds at a nearby hospital. The family has asked for privacy during this difficult time. Rest in peace, Mr. Gabay.